United States Senator Ben Sasse says a couple of stances taken by President Donald Trump of late raise real concern among Republicans.

In wake of the Florida school shootings which left 17 dead, President Trump suggested the government should take the guns first and worry about due process later.

“You don’t ever start a conversation by saying, ‘The Bill of Rights is off the table, let’s give government all the power, government can decide first and later we’ll decide if you have any due process rights.’ That’s not how America works,” Sasse tells Nebraska Radio Network in a telephone interview.

The comment by the president seemed to surprise Republicans, who have generally resisted calls for tighter gun control.

Trump also struck at a fundamental Republican principle when he threatened to slap tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. That threat combined with the president’s open dislike for the North American Free Trade Agreement fly in the face of Republican calls for free trade.

Vice President Mike Pence defended the threat during a visit to the Omaha metropolitan area in which he stated, “Now, the president said earlier today, the United States has been taken advantage of for too long by too many counties when it comes to trade. So, let me promise you, whether it be in re-negotiating NAFTA or protecting our steel and aluminum industries, President Trump is always going to put American workers, American companies, and American farmers first.”

Sasse adamantly disagrees with Trump’s trade stance and even suggests Pence cannot believe increased tariffs are good for the American economy.

Sasse says too often reactions to and even the relationship with President Trump among his fellow Republicans in Washington is dictated by politics back home.

“A lot of folks around here, when they’re aligned with the president, they want to do cheerleading, if they think that’s popular back home,” according to Sasse. “When they’re concerned about what the president is doing, the main thing they want to do is keep their head down.”